Mandrel drive apparatus



Sept. 7, 1943. w.- P. STUCKERT EI'AL 2,329,164

MANDREL DRIVE APPARATUS Filed April 25. 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l WzlZzamPStuckert, H arold H Snyder,

' INVENTORS ATTORNEY Se t. 7, 1943. w. P; STUCKERT ETAL 2,329,164

I MANDREL DRIVE APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmml W William P Stz wkeri Harold H. Snyder IN VENTORS IQPQM AT TOR N E'Y p 9 w. P. STUCKERT :rm. 2,329,164

MANDREL DRIVE APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 w. N 4 Wm M 8 W s m, Y f A H v J v d 5 WH M o J/Lv i w Z.

'curately and with Patented Sept. 7,

UNITED STATES" PATENT" FFICEI MANDBEL nn va APrAnA'rUs William P. swarm, Marbleheadyand Harold n.

Snyder, Lynn, Masa, assign ore to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 25, 1941, Serial No. 390,350

ZCIaims. ((114941) v p the mandrel; then the mandrel should be speeded This, invention relates, to machinery for" the manufacture of glass and more particularly to the mandrel drive and the driving and adjusting mechanism therefor.

An object of this invention is to provide a mandrel adjusting and drive unit which can be adjusted and regulated without having to stop operations and without injuriously' afl'ecting the quality of the glass flowing from the mandrel. Y

Another object is to 'provide -a mandrel adjusting and drive unit which'can be adjusted acprecision as well as with rapidity.

A further object is to provide a mandrel adlusting and drive unit which possesses an adaptability covering a wide range, not only of the pitch of the mandrel but also of the elevation of the mandrel assembly.

lowering the entire assembly, the means through which the mandrel is driven and the means for adjusting the longitudinal extension of the mandrel bar.

Similar reference characters refer to similar I parts in the several views of the drawings.

In the manufacture of tubular glass in which the molten glass is caused to flow over a ceramic mandrel, the wallthickness of the tubular glass being drawn is governed by the speed with which the glassflows off the mandrel. However, the

control being exercised by the constancy'of the' speed of the mandrel is accurate only so long as the temperature of the molten glass, as it hits and flows off' the mandrel remains constant. 'Due to the difliculty of maintaining'the molten glass at an exact uniform temperature, 'some means must be devised to compensate for an increaseor decrease in the temperature of the molten glass in order that the glass may flow ofl' the mandrel in a uniform manner.

.,When the molten glass tends to sag and'collect along "the bottom of the mandrel so that there is a'lack. of uniformity in the wall'ithickne'ss of the tubular'glass flowing oil the end of II the horizontal support 3 through hearings in the up so that it will turn more revolutions per minute and thereby obviate this condition. For this reason, I have employed a variable speed control on the mechanism for driving the mandrel of this machine.

Similarly, if the temperature of the glass were I too high or if, for any reason, the glass were flowing off-the end of the mandrel at too great a speed; some means of accurately exercising control should be available. On this machine the pitch of the mandrel can be rapidly changed with a high degree of accuracy and a smoothness of'operation not. found in other mandrel drive and adjusting units.

Not only is it'desirable'to be able to exercise a ready and accurate control over the adjustability'of the mandrel in a vertical manner, i. e. the adjustability of the pitch thereof, but it is also desirable to be able to readily and accurately adjust the position of the mandrel in a horizontal plane. This is accomplished on' this machine by reason of the manner in which the mandrel is locked'in the water-cooled jacket. This adjustment enables the attainment of a wider range of adaptability of the position of the mandrel to cope with varying working conditions under which the mandrel may be forced to operate.

In this machine, not only is the mandrel capable of adjustment in a horizontal and a vertical plane but the' entire mandrel drive unit is adjustably mounted to' permit the raising and lowering of the'entire unit. This adjustability.is

also accomplished in a manner to provide an such as to insure an accurate adjustment speedily accomplished, with no strain being placed on any other part of the machinery and 'no other part of the machinery beingthrown out of proper alignment by the adjustment. 1

In .Figure 1, the ceramic mandrel 28 fitted on the end of the mandrel bar 53 which is made of a high temperature heat-resisting alloy. The

variable speed drive I8 and the water-cooled drive housing through whichthe mandrel bar table 5'. This supporttable 5 is mounted'over of the mandrel.

ble cap 25 whichare attached to the lower extremities of the support table 5 and which encircle the horizontal support '3 near the ends thereof. The horizontal support cap 26 caps the tubular horizontal support 3 at one end while the end cover 6 caps itat the other end. It is through this other end that the means for controlling-the'pitch of the mandrelis located. This control is exercised through the mandrel pitch adjusting handle 29.

The c'olmnn support i provides the main support for this machine. Its lower extremityis sunk in the concrete 30 to insure adequate support and proper balancefor the, various. parts of the machine regardless of the angle to which some of the elements may be adjusted. The adjusting column 2, within the column support i,

has the horizontal" support 3 bolted to the top thereof through the bolts 34. The adjustment to raise or lower the adjusting column 2 is made -through the adjusting handle 23 and is accompl'ished through abevel gear and bevel pinion operating on the adjustingscrew- 8 within the adjusting screw column 4. The column clamp ring '9 with the lugs 45 thereon serve as a means of locking the adjusting column 2 after it has been elevated to the desired position. This looking takes place through the column lock lever 32 and the column clamping screw 52 fitted in the lugs 45. a A key way, with the key 46 therein, prevents the adjusting column 2 from turning in a spiral manner when it is being raised or lowered through the adjustirm screw 8.

Figure I also shows how the mandrel drive unit is independently mounted from the remainder of'the glass forming apparatus. Thus this As shown in Figure 3, the worm l4 on the shaft I9 is meshed with the worm gear l2. This worm gear i2 is ilxedto the horizontal support 3 by any suitable means, such as bolts, not shown. Thus when the mandrel pitch adjusting handle 29 is turned, the reduction worm shaft is turned thereby. This causes the worm l5 and the worm gear l3 to-turn. The movement of the worm gear I3 is transmitted through the worm shaft i9 to the worm l4. Since the worm gear I2 is fixed to the horizontal support 3 the movement of the worm 14 will cause the table support 4 to move about the worm gear l2, 4

The end cover 6, which is 'bolted to the lower extremity of the support table 5 and the support table flange cap 24, serves as a housing in which the worm gear i2 and the worm i4 are housed.

mandrel drive mechanism differs from that shown in Patent 1,219,709 issued to Danner. In

that patent the mandrel drive mechanism is shown as directlyconnected to the remainder of the glass forming apparatus while the mandrel drive in this application is independently mounted therefrom. -In that patent the mandrel was driven by a chain and sprocket mechanism whereas the mandrel in this application is driven much more smoothly and evenly through a worm and gear mechanism, thus'lending itself to wider ranges of adaptability with respect to speed without imparing the quality of the glass being drawn.

The furnace I0 is mounted on the supports 1 i. The muffled heating chamber may be divided in- .to two portions 12 and 13 due to the desirability of having two distinct temperature controls on different points of the revolving mandrel. The mandrel wall or housing 14 is arranged within the furnace 10 to prevent flames in the chambers 12 and 13 from direct'contact with the glass as it flows onto and down the mandrel. The opening in the wall of the furnace 10 through which the mandrel bar 53 extends may be closed off, to prevent heat from the furnace from overheating the water-cooled .housing through which the mandrel .is driven, by a removable horseshoe shaped elementthrough which the mandrel bar 53 may be moved in a vertical plane to permit the adjustment of the angular disposition The mandrelmay be changed and a different one substituted therefor by disconnecting the key on the mandrel bar removing the support wheel and the. air connectionf'and then dropping the mandrel forward, removing the samethrough, the front of thefurnace. This is more The end cover plate. Ii caps the worm gear i2. and the reduction worm cap 21 caps the worm i5 and the reduction worm shaft 20.

As is shown inFigure 2, the rearward extremity of the horizontal support 3, adjacent the lower extremity of the support table 5 and the support table flange cap 24, is graduatedto enable the accurate calculation of the extent to which the table 5 is moved and hence the extent to which the pitch of the mandrel has been altered. In this way,-the increase or decrease of the pitch over or imder a certain given pitch may readily be calculated. v Figure 4 shows the manner in which the mandrel drive assembly may be raised or lowered through the adjusting column 2, the manner in which the mandrel bar 52 is driven, and the manner in which the mandrel bar 53 may be moved in a longitudinal manner in and out of the drive housing 35.

The mandrel drive assembly, mounted on top of the adjusting column 2 is adjusted through the adjusting screw 8. This screw 8 is located within the adjusting screw column 4. Thetop jects through the side of the horizontal support 3 in a manner such as to permit the bevel pinion II to mesh with the bevel gear [4. The bevel pinion cap 22 caps the face of the horizontal support I through which the bevel pinion shaft 2| projects.

Thus when the adjusting handle 22 which is located on the outer end of the bevel pinion-shaft 2| is turned to the right or. to the left, the entire mandrel drive assembly will be raised or lowered by the raising or lowering oftheadjusting column 2 on whichthe entire assembly 'ismounted. The turning of the handle 22 will turn the bevel pinion shaft 2i and hence the bevel pinion l1 and the bevel gear It. The turning of the bevel gear I which caps the adjusting screw I will turn the screw I which is threaded in the nut column flanges In which establish a bearing surv face contact with the adjusting screw 8.

To insure the positive holding of the adjusting column 2 in the position to which it has been moved as the result of an adjustment, the column clamp ring 9 which encircles the column 2 flush with the top of the column support I, is tightened by turning the column clamping screw 52 through the column lock lever 32.

As was pointed out in the description of Figure 1, the mandrel bar 53 is driven by the variable speed drive l8 through the counter-drive shaft 42. As is shown in this figure, Figure 4, the

counter drive shaft 42 drives the counter-drive.

gear 53 which is meshed with the worm drive shaft gear 44. The motion of the worm drive shaft gear 44 is transmitted through the worm drive shaft M to the drive worm Eli which is in turn meshed with the drive worm gear 39 on the drive worm support 37.

The drive worm support 31 is fitted in the drive housing 35 through the bearingsw. The oil seals 41 serve to lubricate the bearings 65. The mandrel bar sleeve 55 encircles that portion of the mandrel bar 53 which is located within the drive housing 35.

The rearward extension of the mandrel bar 53 is threaded to permit longitudinal adjustment of the bar through the mandrel bar handwheel 54. The threaded mandrel bar 53 also has a keyway therein; in which the sleeve key 62 in the mandrel bar sleeve 55 is located. Not only is the mandrel bar hand-wheel 54 locked through the sleeve key 62 but further assuranceis had that it will maintain its position once it is adjusted by reason of the handwheel clamps 84 which lock the wheel 54 to the mandrel bar sleeve 55. Thus, in order to make an adjustment through the mandrel bar handwheel 54, the handwheel clamps 65 must first be released through the backing of! of the clamp screws 65. Air is introduced into the mandrel bar 53 from the air line 66 through the universal joint GI and the mandrel bar air connection nut 60.

What I claim is:

1. A mandrel drive unit comprising: a-vertically disposed cylindrical support; a cylindrical sleeve mounted in said support for vertical adjustment with respect thereto; means carried by said cylindrical support permitting locking said .sleeve against vertical adjustment; a horizontally disposed cylindrical bearing member mounted on said sleeve and above said support; means extending within aid bearing, for vertically adjusting said sleeve and consequently said bearing; a table mounted for pivotal movement, in a vertical plane, about'said bearing as a horizontal pivot; means carried by said table for pivoting said table about said bearing; a water-cooled housing mounted on said table; a mandrel bar extending through said housing; a mandrel attached to said bar; drive means mounted on said table for rotating said mandrel bar; and means for adjusting the length of said bar in its extension from said water cooled housing.

2. A mandrel drive unit comprising: a vertically disposed cylindrical support; a cylindrical sleeve mounted in said support for vertical adjustment with respect thereto; a horizontally disposed cylindrical bearing member mounted on said sleeve and above said support; means for vertically adjusting said sleeve; means carried by said cylindrical support permitting locking of said sleeve in any vertical position to which it may be adjusted; a table mounted for pivotal movement about said bearing member as a horizontal pivot and having itslongitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of said bearing member; means carried by said table for pivoting said table about said bearing; a compact water-cooled housing mounted on said table above and close to said bearing; a mandrel attached to said bar; drive means mounted on said table above and close to said bearing for rotating said mandrel bar; and means for adjusting the length of said bar in its extension from said watercooled housing.

WILLIAM P. STUCKERT.

HAROLD H. SNYDER. 

